


The Solve

by Spindini



Category: Wheel of Fortune (US TV)
Genre: F/F, Game Shows, RPF, Wheel of Fortune silliness, banana pudding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 16:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12345948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spindini/pseuds/Spindini
Summary: A long-time Wheel Watcher's solve impresses the legendary Vanna White.





	The Solve

Spindini Solvana was an old lady who was obsessed with Wheel of Fortune, even as far as old people are concerned. Since it started in 1975, she had been watching. “The Wheel” was not watched by many back then; it did not even have Vanna. However, it was with Vanna that Spindini’s obsession began to rise to unparalleled levels. Anyone who tried to bother her at “Wheel O’Clock” was told to “go away and let me watch my Wheel!”

As both the Wheel and Spindini continued to exist, the aging people who she usually talked to began to form theories about why she was so into that one show. Her best friend, a Jeopardy! fan named Lulu, theorized that Spindini was oddly attracted to Wheel’s host, despite him being unfavorable to many. That reasoning caught on mostly since Spindini had remained unattached over the years and she liked Wheel more after the host changeover, and was formed from Lulu having a similar feeling involving her own show. Another theory that went around was the one that Spindini wanted to solve puzzles with no letters to prove herself superior, but it remained a fringe theory because she didn’t seem like the elitist who would do that, and Jeopardy! was better for proving you were superior anyway.  
However, during one of the Jeop/Wheel hours that Spindini always had with Lulu, the Jeopardy! viewer noticed something. “Why did you giggle when that contestant said she was engaged to Beth?”

“I don’t know how this never came up… but I am definitely like her in a way. I never got to show it off because of people who make a big deal of it. Don’t worry, though. I don’t like you in that way, we’re just friends and will remain so!”

Lulu thought about this for a moment. Then, she smiled and shouted, “Vanna!”

“What? What about her?”

“You watch Wheel of Fortune all the time because you like Vanna. That’s it!”

“What is with you? I can’t enjoy Wheel without liking one of its hosts? Well, I can’t say you’re wrong.”

“We’ve got to get you on Wheel! You’ll be too much for them to handle.”

The next time the Wheelmobile came near Spindini, she went to the audition. Her name was placed in a drawing, and when it was time to select people to try out for Wheel, she was actually selected! Spindini walked up to the fake puzzleboard, with the fake Vanna. She solved a puzzle while up there, a SAME NAME puzzle of “CREDIT & TAROT CARDS”, after calling the T and buying an E. After she did that, Spindini had to wait for notification of her final audition, if she was picked.

After a few months, Spindini went to her audition and played another puzzle. Though she did not solve it, she still tried to show off. Spindini got Bankrupt after spinning for a while, but she was given a sheet of paper with Wheel of Fortune-style puzzles that had some letters filled in, and started filling them in. When the final audition ended, Spindini waited for a letter that would say she would be on the Wheel. It came in two weeks! Yes! It was really happening!

Spindini went to the Wheel of Fortune area and was loaded into the green room with the other contestants. She would be having Valerie in the audience, since she did not know anyone else of personal significance. The coordinators grouped the contestants into groups of three for each show and Spindini was in the yellow middle position with a young woman named Melissa and a man named Sam on either side of her. She gave the heavy Wheel a few practice spins but the Wheel was not important to her; what was important was Vanna.

Later, an older woman (though younger than Spindini, of course) who did not look fancy to the casual observer walked into the green room but every Wheel Watcher would notice something about her, especially Spindini. The one who walked in was actually Vanna! Though Vanna did not have a Wheel gown, Spindini still was stunned into shock. As Vanna wished all the contestants good luck, Spindini could only stare until she left. The contestants drew numbers and Spindini’s group would go third out of the six shows taping that day.

Spindini watched the first and second shows from the room since she wanted to yell out her solves, but could not do that if she watched in the audience, for obvious reasons. She solved both Bonus Round puzzles and noted the theme of the week: “Always Great! Wheel & V8”. There could not have been a better week for Spindini; she loved V8!

It was finally time to tape Spindini’s show. She watched Vanna, who was wearing a silky light pink gown with the classiest “leg peep” slit ever and silver detailing at the top, until the first Toss-Up, when she looked at the puzzleboard. The category was THING. Four blanks, two blanks, three blanks, eight blanks. Spindini knew the puzzle would be themed to the week, so she buzzed in before any letters came up! “SLAP ON THE FOREHEAD!” she shouted.

After the contestants introduced themselves (and Melissa mentioned she had what was thought of Spindini before she revealed she liked Vanna) it was time for the second Toss-Up. Spindini rang in early on that one as well, ROOM WITH A VIEW, and solved it.

The first puzzle was FOOD & DRINK, and Spindini managed to solve it as DELICIOUS VEGETABLE JUICE. The next one was a BEFORE & AFTER, but Melissa solved it, HOME SWEET HOME PLATE. Spindini did manage to solve the Prize Puzzle, an EVENT of “UNFORGETTABLE TROPICAL GETAWAY”, and won one to Maui. She did not solve the last Toss-Up or the Final Spin puzzle, but won the game on what she did solve. Now, it was time for the Bonus Round.

The letters RSTLNE were revealed in the puzzle. It was a PERSON. Four blanks in the top word were unrevealed, and only an S and N in the bottom, eight-letter word were revealed. Spindini confidently called Y, G, H, and O, for a card game she played called Yu-Gi-Oh. None of them came up! The puzzle looked like ____ __S____N. Spindini called out, “JAZZ MUSICIAN!” And the puzzle was solved!

Spindini won $100,000 from that solve! Along with her $6,009 trip, the $8,500 she had from the first puzzle, and the two Toss-Ups she solved, her total was $117,509. Lulu ran out into the Bonus Round area to celebrate, and Spindini hugged Vanna as the show ended. A lot of contestants did that in the moment, so  
Vanna thought nothing of it and did the ending segment for the show before getting her next dress for the next one.

Though the other contestants had left, Spindini requested that she watch the other three shows that taped that day, since the contestants that went last could watch all of them. That was actually a usual request, because who doesn’t want to watch more Wheel? Spindini sat in the contestant section of the audience and found that Lulu had left already. She liked Jeopardy! better anyway, so Spindini just sat back and enjoyed the three shows left to tape.

After the last show, themed to America’s Game instead of V8 because of how the schedule worked, came to an end, Vanna, now in her sparkling blue dress that looked like the $2,500 wedge, gave the last three contestants their sendoff. Then, she gave a similar one to Spindini after the coordinators called Spindini down to leave.

“Also, I have to say this may have been the first no-letter solve in Wheel of Fortune history, and that Bonus Round solve was just great. Even I can’t believe those puzzles sometimes. Keep solving!”

“It was nothing; you could have probably solved the same puzzle, or better. So, what’s life like outside of the Wheel?”

“What? I don’t talk about that kind of thing with contestants! Especially not at this point…”

“Oh… it’s probably too unfortunate.”

“Well, it’s not like other people don’t know about it. I just came off of my second marriage.”

“Oh. Did he have any problems with you?”

“It was my decision. I’m probably ungrateful or something.”

“No! It’s good you ended it if you didn’t like it that much!”

“No one wants to hear that from me! Well, I have to make some puzzles for the show, so bye-bye!” Vanna sashayed off to her dressing room, touching invisible letters.

“I want to make a puzzle too!” Spindini swiftly followed her.

Instead of writing down puzzles, Vanna was working with her own brand of yarn, Vanna’s Choice. Her crochet work sat in her lap. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s fine, I wouldn’t want to make puzzles either.”

“Actually, this is a puzzleboard blanket.”

Spindini looked at Vanna make the blanket for a minute, then turned to her black iPhone and started playing her favorite app, Vanna’s Puzzle Pop. She “no-lettered” a puzzle and popped all the right letter bubbles in order to solve it, then spun Vanna’s wheel to start the next puzzle.

“That’s my app! How far have you gotten?”

“I’m only on level 35. Aiming the bubbles can be so hard!”

“I finished the game! Look!” Vanna’s voice rang out clear as she showed her white iPhone with a completed game of Puzzle Pop on it. Spindini got closer to it to see it fully, and after Vanna had finished showing her, she paged to her Safari browser. Before turning away, Spindini got a brief view of a site she was on, which was named  
“Rainbow Network”. Could it be?

Spindini looked up the Rainbow Network in her phone. It appeared to be some kind of forum, and its design logically had a rainbow motif. However, its purpose was obfuscated, but Spindini believed it might be a site for others like her. She browsed the recent posts and found some by a user named “blanklexicon”. Spindini immediately associated that name with the puzzleboard, and by extension, Vanna. Could she really be there?

The user’s posts mentioned leaving a marriage that she was incompatible with, and how she was worried about people thinking badly of the reason why she was not compatible, though a lot of them liked her when they didn’t know. Spindini browsed through the forum thread and found some advice that told the user to reveal the reason and a bit of advice that didn’t, which mentioned “preserving safety”. Even the user’s story reminded Spindini of what Vanna just told her. However, there was no way to talk about what she had read.

Spindini noticed that Vanna had put down her knitting and phone, and asked, “So how are the puzzles coming now?”

“I don’t have even one. What about you?”

“I only came up with HAPPY WHALE, for the Bonus Round of course.”

Vanna giggled at the puzzle. “I’m going to use that when they ask me if I wrote a puzzle.”

“So what’s the need to stay here anymore?”

Soon, Vanna and Spindini arrived at Vanna’s own house. It was a dream in its own right, but Spindini mostly appreciated that it was associated with Vanna. The moon shimmered onto them both as they went inside. Vanna’s cat, Stella, pawed at her feet. Spindini looked at Stella, noticing her spots and cute green eyes. “Can I pet her?”

“Why not?”

Spindini reached out and pet Stella’s soft fur. Vanna reached for the Wheel of Fortune Collectible Cookbook, a book that Spindini also owned, and turned to the last recipe: her Vanna Banana Pudding. “Mmm! I could use some of that!” exclaimed Spindini.

“Maybe we should make some, then.”

They whipped up delicious custard and layered it with bananas and wafers, eventually forming what could only be called a Vanna Banana Pudding. Vanna started to dig in, but Spindini did at the same time and their spoons clinked together. Spindini giggled and scooped some pudding up. Then, Vanna got a bite as well, and they had soon finished the bowl. “It’s so sweet, just like its name!” said Spindini, looking at Vanna’s messy face.

Vanna wiped her face and said, “Well, thanks, but it’s getting late and I want to sleep. You should probably go.”

“Oh… I’m too tired as well…”

“Okay then, I guess you can sleep on the couch until you sort yourself out.”

Spindini fell asleep almost immediately and though she could not remember the dream she had, she knew it was about Vanna somehow. When her eyes fluttered open, she noticed Vanna standing in the light that glimmered through the window. Vanna had traded her sparkling dress for a simple and fluffy lilac outfit, but to Spindini, she still appeared to shine as bright.

Vanna went out to her garden, and Spindini followed. They ended up sitting on a Vanna-made pink blanket, which did not have any letters. Spindini viewed the lush growth, and then she turned at Vanna. “I’m just not going to ask you if you believe in soulmates, because with how your relationships have been, all that belief has surely gone,” said Spindini.

Vanna laughed a bit. “Maybe those relationships just weren’t meant for me.”

“Do you think another kind of relationship would do you any better?”

Vanna blushed and turned away. “…No?”

Spindini leaned over. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t say anything bad about you.”

“Only if you do not let anyone know.”

Spindini nodded, and Vanna whispered to her. “I think my relationships didn’t work out as much as they should have because of the simple fact that they were with men. Maybe if the Wheel Watchers didn’t complain so much I could have tried one with someone who wasn’t… but I still don’t know if that’s what’s right.”

“Want to test it out?”

Vanna said nothing at first, just looking at Spindini. She appeared to be stunned. Spindini said nothing as well. She did not want to make things worse.

Finally, Vanna held Spindini’s hand and spoke. “Sure. Your no-letter solve just adds to how cute you can be. And the Wheel Watchers can’t watch here.”

As she moved her face up to Spindini’s, the other also moved in, brushing her fingers against Vanna’s golden hair. Vanna pressed her lips onto Spindini’s own, as Spindini gently locked them together. Her arms wrapped around Spindini as they held it. After a while, it ended as Spindini released her mouth.

“I have to get back to my own cat now. When I want to contact you again, I’ll follow you on Twitter, at ‘Spindini Solvana’. I hope you follow me back in case I need to send you a direct message!”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

When Spindini returned home, Valerie asked her about Wheel of Fortune. “No, I signed a non-disclosure agreement! I can’t disclose my winnings,” said Spindini, then she added, “or anything else,” as she winked at Valerie.


End file.
